ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL: America needs spirit of VE Day in new struggle

Updated
1:00 pm CDT, Friday, May 8, 2020

Nutrition & Services for Seniors provides Meals On Wheels services for the homebound elderly and disabled in Jefferson and Hardin counties. With the pandemic, the need for this service is on the rise. Photo made on April 20, 2020. Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise less

Nutrition & Services for Seniors provides Meals On Wheels services for the homebound elderly and disabled in Jefferson and Hardin counties. With the pandemic, the need for this service is on the rise. Photo ... more

Photo: Fran Ruchalski, The Enterprise / The Enterprise

Photo: Fran Ruchalski, The Enterprise / The Enterprise

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Nutrition & Services for Seniors provides Meals On Wheels services for the homebound elderly and disabled in Jefferson and Hardin counties. With the pandemic, the need for this service is on the rise. Photo made on April 20, 2020. Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise less

Nutrition & Services for Seniors provides Meals On Wheels services for the homebound elderly and disabled in Jefferson and Hardin counties. With the pandemic, the need for this service is on the rise. Photo ... more

Photo: Fran Ruchalski, The Enterprise / The Enterprise

ENTERPRISE EDITORIAL: America needs spirit of VE Day in new struggle

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Seventy-five years ago today, the U.S. and other nations celebrated one of the greatest achievements in history. If we could capture a portion of that spirit and unity today, we would be much closer to victory in our current battle against a different kind of foe.

Three-quarters of a century ago, the triumph was over the evil of Nazism. On May 7, 1945, the remnants of the battered German armed forces quietly quit before the Allies in a French schoolhouse, and the next day the allies formally accepted their surrender. May 8 is forever known as VE Day in honor that achievement — victory in Europe.

Today the enemy is not the army of a wicked empire. It is the novel coronavirus, invisible to the naked eye. To date it has infected 3.7 million people across the world and killed more than 263,000. Both of those numbers will continue increasing.

In addition to this human toll, this virus has stalled the world’s economy and caused widespread fear and despair. It has destroyed jobs, businesses and dreams across the globe — and no one really knows when it will end.

It’s grim by any measure. We will defeat it some day, just as we beat the Nazis, but a vaccine could be many months away. In the meantime, we struggle and cope, wondering if it is OK to reopen some businesses while worrying about a rebound.

There’s no magic formula in this process, but we would all be better off it we adopted some of measures we took to win World War II.

People and businesses can obey current laws designed to limit the spread of the virus, whether they like them or not, like the blackout rules or curfews of the 1940s. Someone in authority has to designate some guidelines, from mayors to governors, and the rest of us should comply with them. If you don’t like the rules, vote these officials out in the next election. But for now, don’t cause more problems.

We can all undertake personal sacrifice just like millions of civilians did during World War II. Instead of growing “victory gardens” or participating in scrap-metal drives, we can try to stay at least 6 feet from strangers. We can wear gloves and masks — even though we don’t have to. We can stay in our homes as much as possible instead of mingling with others and giving the virus a chance to spread. We can help a neighbor get some groceries or mow their lawn.

We don’t know when victory over coronavirus can be proclaimed, and there will be no solemn signing ceremony. But however and whenever it comes, it will be fervently welcomed.

In the meantime, we can keep calm and carry on. None of this is easy, but it’s a fraction of what people did to win the second world war. If your grandparents and great-grandparents could do that then, we can do this now.